Jon Jones celebrates after defeating Daniel Cormier during their light heavyweight title mixed martial arts bout in Las Vegas
Jon Jones has been stripped of his UFC light heavyweight title and suspended indefinitely following his arrest in New Mexico on a hit-and-run that police say left a pregnant woman with a broken arm.
The UFC announced the extraordinary penalties yesterday (Macau time) for violations of its athlete code of conduct policy following Jones’ latest arrest in a string of misbehavior.
“Got a lot of soul searching to do,” Jones posted on his official Twitter account. “Sorry to everyone I’ve let down.”
UFC President Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta apparently met with Jones in Albuquerque before making their decision, which deprives the promotion of a major star. Jones is widely considered the world’s best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist.
“He’s very disappointed. He’s upset,” White told Fox Sports, the UFC’s official broadcast partner. “He wanted to go down as one of the greats, or the greatest ever. He’s disappointed, but it is what it is. It was the decision we had to make.”
Jones was scheduled to face No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 in Las Vegas on May 23, headlining one of the promotion’s biggest shows of the year.
Instead, No. 3 contender Daniel Cormier will face Johnson for the title. Cormier lost to Jones in January, several weeks after Jones tested positive for cocaine use.
Cormier was scheduled to fight on a card in New Orleans on June 6, but agreed to take his second straight title shot on 3 1/2 weeks’ notice. AP
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